Eto Nabuli

Etonia Nabuli (born 24 August 1988) is a Fijian-born Australian professional rugby footballer who plays rugby union for the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby. He previously played rugby league for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League as a wing, also representing Fiji.

Eto Nabuli
Nabuli playing for the Wallabies in 2017
Full nameEtonia Nabuli[1]
Date of birth (1988-08-24) 24 August 1988
Place of birthSigatoka, Viti Levu, Fiji
Height197 cm (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Weight108 kg (17 st 0 lb; 238 lb)
SchoolNadroga Navosa Provincial High School
Rugby league career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015 St. George Illawarra 14 (28)
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–15 Fiji 2 (0)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016– Queensland Country 10 (15)
Super Rugby
Years Team Apps (Points)
2016– Reds 38 (45)
Correct as of 18 March 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017– Australia 1 (0)

Background

Nabuli was born in Sigatoka, Fiji. In 2012, after coincidentally bumping into Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler while working as a porter at InterContinental in Fiji, Nabuli joined the Penrith Panthers for the 2013 NRL season. Johns and Fittler were in Fiji promoting rugby league, when the two first noticed Nabuli and decided to bring him to Australia to play rugby league.[2] Nabuli says he had only played rugby union prior to coming to Australia in late December 2012.[3]

Rugby league
Nabuli playing for the Windsor Wolves in 2013

2013

Nabuli was a regular player for the Windsor Wolves in the New South Wales Cup during the 2013 season, finishing as the competition's leading try-scorer, with 30 tries.[4] On 23 September 2013, he was named on the wing in the 2013 New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.[5][6]

2014

In February 2014, he was included in the Penrith Panthers' 16-man squad that participated in the 2014 Auckland Nines competition.[7] He sustained a medial collateral ligament injury on his left knee during the competition's quarter-final.[8]

In May, Nabuli played for Fiji in the 2014 Pacific Rugby League International. On 28 September, he played in the Panthers' 2014 New South Wales Cup Grand Final victory over the Newcastle Knights.[9]

2015

On 27 October, Nabuli signed a 1-year contract with the St. George Illawarra Dragons, starting in 2015,[10] after rejecting interest from Super Rugby team, the Western Force.[11] In round 1 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Dragons, against the Melbourne Storm,[12] scoring a try on debut.[13] On 2 May, he played for Fiji against Papua New Guinea in the 2015 Melanesian Cup.[14] On 14 June, he re-signed with the Dragons on a 1-year contract.[15] He finished off his debut season having played in 13 games and scoring 7 tries.[16]

Rugby union
Nabuli with Australia against Scotland in 2017

2016

In September, it was confirmed that Nabuli would join Super Rugby side, Queensland Reds from 2016 on a two-year contract,[17] after being released from the final year of his Dragons contract.

After the first 12 rounds of Super rugby, Wallabies coach, Michael Cheika, selected Nabuli in his preliminary 39-man squad for the test series against England in 2016.[18] He did not play for the Wallabies that season,[19] but was selected again the following year, making his test debut against Scotland on 17 June 2017.[20]

2017

In 2017 the Queensland Reds finished 3rd in the Australian conference and 14th overall, winning just four out of fifteen games. Nabuli was associated with 26% of the total scored tries for the Reds during the 2017 season scoring a total of eight tries and four try assists.

In October 2017, Nabuli played for the Barbarians against Australia at Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Losing the game 31–28.[21]

Bordeaux

In March 2018, it has been rumoured that Nabuli along with other fellow Reds players will be leaving the club to join Bordeaux in the French Top 14, as they are off contract at the conclusion of the season.[22][23][24]

References
  1. "Etonia Nabuli goes from carrying bags at a Fiji hotel to grand final with Penrith after being discovered by Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  2. Rothfield, Phil (9 December 2012). "Penrith sign Fijian hotel porter sight unseen on recommendation of Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns". Fox Sports.
  3. Walshaw, Nick (29 December 2012). "Etonia Nabuli, spotted in Fiji by Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler, ready to start life at Panthers". Herald Sun.
  4. Ryan, Nathan (28 November 2013). "Penrith Panthers speedster Eto Nabuli set to fly in the NRL come season 2014". Fox Sports.
  5. "NSW Cup Team of the Year - Panthers". Penrithpanthers.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  6. "2013 NSWRL.com.au VB NSW Cup Team of the Year - Announcement". NSWRL. Archived from the original on 8 January 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  7. "Auckland Nines Team Announcement". Penrith Panthers. 12 February 2014.
  8. "Injury Update". Penrith Panthers. 20 February 2014.
  9. "VB NSW Cup Grand Final Preview". NRL.com. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  10. "Sign Eto Nabuli". Dragons.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  11. Ben Horne (7 October 2014). "Fijian Nabuli signs with NRL Dragons". News.smh.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  12. "Late Mail: Round 1 v Melbourne Storm". Dragons.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  13. "NRL 2015 - Round 1". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  14. "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  15. "Re-Sign Nabuli". Dragons.com.au. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  16. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  17. Lutton, Phil (15 September 2015). "Queensland Reds sign St George Illawarra Dragons winger Eto Nabuli". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  18. "Wallabies v England June 2016 Test series squad announced by Michael Cheika". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  19. "Hodge survives first Wallabies cut". rugby.com.au. 3 June 2016.
  20. "Rugby Union: Scotland win thriller against Australia". Yahoo Sports. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  21. "Wallabies win comes at a cost". rugby.com.au. 28 October 2017.
  22. "Nabuli Bordeaux bound". rugby.com.au. 16 March 2018.
  23. "Queensland Reds winger Eto Nabuli to join Aussie contingent in France at end of Super Rugby season". The Courier Mail. 16 March 2018.
  24. "Nabuli, Douglas linked to French move". Yahoo7. 15 March 2018.
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